Road signs – Page 3 – Metric Views

Cost is no barrier to rollout of 20 mph speed limit

For years, the DfT has given cost and diversion of funds from other parts of the transport budget as arguments against the metrication of UK road signs. While all kinds of arguments have been made for and against the reduction of the speed limit on local roads to 20 mph in London and Wales, I have not heard any opponents of the rollout of 20 mph speed limits say that it costs too much or that it diverts funds from other parts of the transport budget. This shows that the DfT arguments against changing road signs to metric units are bogus.

Opportunity missed to save £ millions on new speed limit signs in Wales

An opportunity to save millions of pounds on new speed limit signs in Wales has been missed by the failure to synchronise the lowering of the default speed limit on roads in built-up areas in Wales with a switch to metric speed limits.

Continue reading “Opportunity missed to save £ millions on new speed limit signs in Wales”

The other victory UKMA won in the end

The previous article describes how weights and measures legislation was saved from the axe by changes to the REUL Bill. There was another important victory that has also been won by UKMA with the help of powerful stakeholders though it took years to win. UKMA spent years fighting the Department for Transport before the battle to make metres mandatory on restriction signs was eventually won.

Why do highway authorities take so long to replace worn-out signs?

There are some worn-out signs that have been in place for months, possibly years, but await replacement. On 4 May 2023, I contacted my local council to ask them to replace a worn-out height sign with a new one. It has been worn out for at least two years but has still not been replaced. I know that it has been worn out for this long because I still have a picture of this worn-out sign that I took on ‎26 ‎May ‎2021. Despite informing the local council highway authority that it needs replacement, it has still not been replaced.

Tenths of a mile on UK odometers relate to nothing on British roads

Odometers in vehicles measure distances travelled in tenths of a kilometre or tenths of a mile, depending on the unit used in the target market. A tenth of a mile is 176 yards. However, there is nothing on British roads that is measured by tenths of a mile.

Metric speed limits in Myanmar and Liberia

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) factbook, “only three countries – Burma (former name for Myanmar), Liberia, and the US – have not adopted the International System of Units (SI, or metric system) as their official system of weights and measures”. ¹ The key word in this sentence is “official”. It does not mean that they do not use the metric system. In fact, Myanmar and Liberia use metric speed limits unlike the UK.

Recent YouGov survey on attitudes to metrication of road transport

On 4 April 2023, YouGov carried out a survey of 4808 British adults about changing the rules around speed and distance in the UK from miles to kilometres. It revealed insights on different attributes based on region, politics, and age.

City of London’s 15 mph plan was another missed opportunity to introduce km/h

Between 2019 and 2022, the City of London planned to become the first UK region with a 15-mph speed limit. This plan was blocked by the Department for Transport because speedometers are not accurate enough for low speeds. It meant that it was not technically possible. Like the mass rollout of the 20-mph speed limit, the plan for a 15-mph speed limit across the City of London was another missed opportunity to introduce km/h speed limits.

Odd British Measurement Usage in the Transport Sector

Some aspects of measurement usage in the British transport sector appear to be uniquely British with no known parallel across the whole world. The British really are out of step with the modern world when it comes to transport measurements. The British transport sector is one of the last imperial bastions in the UK thanks to DfT policies.

ULEZ is all metric unlike UK road signs

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has expressed his commitment to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) this year to make London’s air cleaner and improve public health. Transport for London (TfL) is planning to expand ULEZ across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023. As ULEZ expansion has been in the news recently, we take a look at the measurements that ULEZ is based on. Whatever happens to ULEZ, measurements play a central part in making it work. Unlike UK road signs, the measurements used in ULEZ are all metric.

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